Table of Contents

01-Success_Story_Inclusive_Community_Development 2 02-Success_Story_Storytelling_Kef_to_DC 3 03-Success_Story_Isolated_Youth_to_Community_Organizer 4 04-Success_Story_Ma3an_in_PYD_Symposium 5 05-Success_Story_COVID_Response_Vol-1_Protective_Masks 6 06-Success_Story_COVID_Response_Vol-2_Community_Standout 7 07-Success_Story_COVID_Response_Vol-3_The_Energizer_of_El_Kef 9 08-Success_Story_COVID_Response_Vol-4_3D_Printing 10 09-Success_Story_COVID_Response_Vol-5_Youth_Connect_Stakeholders 11 10-Success_Story_Youth_Harness_Digital_Media 12

USAID Supports inclusive community-led development

Fostering social inclusion , bordering , is one of the marginalized governorates in paves the way for the country. It has been a hotspot for social unrest and youth disillusionment fuelled by extremists’ activities. The USAID sustainable change Resilience and Community Empowerment program: Ma3an (together,

in Arabic) supports community actors to collaborate and work towards Photo credit: credit: Photo creating sustainable community development mechanisms. Building on the achievements of a previous 2016 USAID pilot project, Ma3anteam Ma3an supported the establishment of a Community Resilience Committee in El Kef that represents all the different sectors of society to drive the resilience process. An active member of this committee is Sahbi Al Kafi, who, despite his limited mobility and the meeting venue being inaccessible for people with disabilities, he never misses a

chance to attend a committee gathering. His commitment and Sahbi El Kefi, Community Resilience perseverance made it even more encouraging and inspiring for all Member during Ma3an’s Sustainability Workshop other members to be more committed and engaged in their community. In February 2019, Sahbi took part in the sustainability workshop that brought together more than 60 community actors from different backgrounds to develop collaboration mechanisms and set practical solutions to the challenges facing the sustainability of the established community resilience model. He was a strong advocate for effective inclusion of marginalised community members and specifically people with disabilities, he believes that should be a crucial pillar upon which the community needs to build its resilience model.

Following a series of meetings with different community stakeholders I remember I had a meeting with and in close collaboration with Ma3an program staff, he managed to an organisation and their office secure access to the international festival of El Kef for people with was not accessible, I couldn’t wait disabilities. The festival has been lacking the minimum accessibility for the help and I was requirements for people with disabilities for a long time, and thanks to embarrassed to ask. That was a Sahbi’s commitment and perseverance, he now leads a newly created turning point in my life, I decided to community committee that ensures adequate measures are put in start relying on myself and training place to enable people with disabilities to feel a part of the community and coaching other people with and enjoy the same rights. disabilities to do the same. This is when you begin to realise that Sahbi El Kefi is an example of a community champion who strive to believing in yourself and your nurture a culture of inclusion and equality, that in turn foster stronger ability to change society” social cohesion and community resilience. This falls under USAID’s strategic objective to strengthen the capacities of local partners to –Sabri El Kefi further advance self-reliance.

Storytelling from El Kef to Washington, DC

Ma3an Youth Mentor Among other events that our trained youth mentors facilitate, shares her story and the Storytelling has been particularly successful. Ma3an recruited 12 local youth to become mentors. Following an eight-day train- impact of Storytelling in ing of trainers they oversee events that enabled peer learning, Tunisia at a global youth increase empathy and strengthened social bonds. summit. Rym conducted two storytelling events in her community, hosting more than 40 participants. She gave them the space to share their successes, challenges, and ambitions for their community and fostered peer learning in a non-patronizing way. These events created an environment of mutual support that pushed towards change and improvement.

Rym was recently selected to present her work with youth at the Global Youth Economic Opportunities Summit (GYEOS) in Washington, D.C. The GYEOS is the flagship event that aims to facilitate knowledge exchange, collaboration, and action among a full range of stakeholders working to expand youth economic opportunities. During the session, Rym told her story to an audience of more than 40 participants committed to advancing the social and economic well-being of youth globally. She also co-facilitated a

simulation of a storytelling event along two staff members from Ma3an. She explained how everything in El Kef is challenging until you meet BELIEVERS. Through these sessions, she met "it’s been an experience of a life artists, entrepreneurs, writers, fighters, developers, and change time, sharing my story with people makers. They were disruptors that were trying to revolutionize in a summit, demonstrating the the socio-economic context of underserved communities. storytelling session that the youth mentors facilitate in the project Upon her return to Tunisia, Rym, who believes that it is all about ma3an as well as meeting young Passion and Grit to create change, took the initiative to start a entrepreneurs from around the Storytelling club to make sure that the impact of storytelling is globe. A humbling experience, spread through camps that will be conducted across Tunisia. and a lesson of a life time " This club is going to be part of Ma3an sustainability plan for Youth Mentors activities.

Isolated youth transformed to a community organizer

“I lost hope in my future in my Selim Fredj, a young man of 28 comes from the Tunisian country when I couldn’t fit into the community of in . Like most of his peers he system’s criteria. I blamed my struggled with hopelessness and depression after the ‘great’ failures on my country until I failed in its promise to provide him with assumed my part of responsibility economic and professional opportunities. His hopelessness fed into of being a valuable community a lack of motivation, leading him to fail to complete a degree from member. Today, I have the more than one university. Carrying the burden of his disappointment chance to exercise social in himself, he felt judged and isolated from his community; a responsibility. community that has only deteriorated further since the revolution and has struggled to function on many levels. – Selim Fredj, Ma3an youth In this time of frustration, Selim came across an opportunity to volunteer with a USAID program called Ma3an that focused on building communities and their resilience with a focus on empowering youth. He was to volunteer with 30 other youth from Nadhour to map his community’s assets, as well as better understand the issues his community faces. As he worked with his peers and reached out to other youth, business owners, service providers and local officials and other community stakeholders, Selim realized that there was indeed a place for him and that he could play a role in invigorating his community. He was needed and he now had the skills and the confidence to work with community members, at all levels, to create the opportunities that the revolution failed to give.

After the youth mapping exercise, Selim could not shake the responsibility and vision that Ma3an had instilled in him. He saw the potential of the youth in Nadhour and he knew that he had the ability to help them reach it. Often youth gather at cafes to simply pass the time. This activity, across Tunisia, has become a symbol of a place where those with no drive, opportunity or hope go. Selim saw an opportunity to change this by opening a ‘Cultural Café’ where youth could go, grab a drink, meet with friends, learn new skills and further develop their community. Selim successfully worked with youth mappers and Ma3an local civil society partner to build his Cultural Café – ‘Elite Corner’. He found the space, built furniture and even held a book drive publicized on social media to have a reading corner. He is now putting the final touches on his café and will launch it on March 6th, 2020. Thanks to him, youth of Nadhour have a place where they can come together to build their community and share opportunities for engagement.

A Testament to What Youth Can Do: Ma3an Participates in the 2020 MENA PYD Symposium

Youth Represent Ma3an at “I had my doubts,” said Nadhem Moussaoui in reference to his the 2020 MENA PYD initial hesitancy to become engaged in Ma3an programming. Speaking before participants gathered for the March 2020 Middle Symposium in , East and North (MENA) Positive Youth Development Morocco (PYD) Symposium, Nadhem continued: “Before Ma3an, my only interest was working hard enough so that I could one day leave and maybe Tunisia, too. I didn’t think Ma3an could

change anything. But I was wrong. I became a youth mapper, got

t to know my community, and started making change locally. Now, I’m making change here in Morocco alongside my friends with me today. We’re a testament to what Tunisian youth can do.”

In hearing Nadhem’s words, Symposium participants could not help but smile. The Symposium was meant to convene USAID

Photo credit to Yasser Macha to Yasser credit Photo development practitioners passionate about improving the effectiveness of programs for MENA youth. It was a special treat, however, for the practitioners attending to hear directly from Nadhem Moussaoui and other Ma3an youth youth themselves. speak to a table of participants gathered for the 2020 MENA PYD Symposium. Agency Youth Coordinator Michael McCabe commented on the representation of Ma3an youth, saying, “Ma3an youth were connected, dynamic, and articulate. I was impressed by their energy and their sense of solidarity. In short, they blew me away.”

“Engaging in [Ma3an’s] community Many practitioners attending the Symposium also found it mapping and planning [processes] inspiring to hear from young people passionate about inclusion. enabled us to recycle some of the On Day 2 of the Symposium, Ma3an youth Nourhene Lahouel norms that have crippled us for so took the stage and proclaimed: “People with disability aren’t long […] What’s happening on Ma3an looking for pity, but [we] are looking for encouragement and support to thrive and achieve [our] full potential.” Nourhene’s is worth learning about so you can comments were accompanied by a standing ovation and the make change in your communities, opportunity to showcase her musical prowess on the oud. too.” For the Ma3an youth attending the Symposium, the event -Safa Hjiri, Ma3an youth participant reflected one step forward on their newfound journeys of change: “I can’t wait to go back home,” said Ma3an youth Houssem Dhahri. “I’ll be sharing all that I’ve seen and learned, and, I’ll be continuing the work. You can count on it.”

Protective Masks to the People: Tunisian Youth Lead COVID-19 Response (Vol. 1)

Ma3an youth lead their When COVID-19 came to Tunisia, Salwa Mahmoudi communities in responding couldn’t sit back and do nothing. She knew she had to act: to COVID-19. “When the media began talking about coronavirus,” Salwa recounted, “I saw that pharmacies were selling masks for an expensive price – 9 TND. People in Tunisia have to work a whole day to save that much money. It’s much too communities in responding expensive.”

Undeterred, Salwa started thinking: “I had recently begun working as a dressmaker, designing and selling clothes online for babies. I had a lot of high-quality fabric scraps

that were just going to be thrown away. I decided to recycle

Photo credit to MahmoudiSalwa credit Photo the fabric and make masks. At first, I made just a few, but Ma3an youth Salwa Mahmoudi models a then I saw there was high demand and I’ve now made more mask she sewed to distribute to local than 50 that I’ve distributed to people in my community.” residents. Salwa is one of many Ma3an youth who have chosen to see COVID-19 as both a challenge and an opportunity. Working as a Ma3an youth mentor, Salwa has developed this spirit of perseverance over time. “In the time I’ve known Salwa,” said Ma3an Youth Program Coordinator Chaima “I’m amazed by Tunisian youth’s Amraoui, “she has completely come out of her shell. When initiatives during these times. The I first met her, I encountered a shy, reserved young woman things my friends are doing have who was hesitant to speak, let alone act. Today, I’m not changed my perspective – everyone surprised that she’s leading the way in bringing masks to has potential and can contribute their her community. It’s just something she would do.” expertise to their communities. My And Salwa has no intention of stopping – in fact, she is hope for Tunisia is that people putting plans in place to expand her work to support those continue these initiatives and this in her community who also want to be of service. “I spirit even after coronavirus ends. launched a call on my Facebook page,” said Salwa, “asking Something good can come out of people who have the know-how to make more masks. I also this.” shared a video tutorial in case people don’t know how. I have plans to set up my garage and teach people who are -Salwa Mahmoudi, Ma3an youth interested. I’ll provide fabrics and a sewing machine to whoever wants to help, all for free and with only one condition – masks go to the people!”

Houssem Dhahri, Community Standout: Tunisian Youth Lead COVID-19 Response (Vol. 2)

Ma3an youth go above and More than 10 miles outside of the Tunisian city of lies the Souk Jedid community. In February and beyond to respond in time March 2020, when news of COVID-19 and associated of crisis. Government-issued stay-at-home ordinances were first released, Souk Jedid was slow to hear. Many of the community’s residents live far from the town center in remote areas where access to news and information is

scarce.

Dhahri Seeing the situation unfold, one resident, 28-year-old Ma3an youth Houssem Dhahri, knew just what to do. “When the Souk Jedid municipality announced they were creating a crisis unit,” Houssem said, “I immediately

Houssem credit: Photo volunteered. We used cars owned by the municipality and Ma3an youth Houssem Dhahri and other other volunteers to visit residents and announce COVID- local crisis unit members spread news of 19 news. We also told people how they could protect COVID-19 to residents residing outside of themselves based on Ministry of Health the Souk Jedid community center. recommendations.”

As the economic hardships of COVID-19 started to come to light, Houssem began working with a Government- sponsored initiative to provide 200 TND (approximately 68 USD) to Souk Jedid residents in need. “With the announcement of the funds, we had a huge flow of people “I’m optimistic that Tunisia will coming to the city center to collect,” recounted Houssem. push through the [COVID-19] “The problem, though, was that the travel defied social crisis and even be better for distancing rules and put people in danger. I suggested a going through it. There is an emerging wave of young ticket-based queueing method to avoid overcrowding at entrepreneurs who have collection sites. I printed numbered tickets and gave them innovative ways of solving the to people and provided estimated wait times that allowed problems that the crisis is residents to come at their own time and be safe.” bringing. Hope resides in these Tunisian youth.” Seeing the success of the two initiatives, Houssem was inspired to do more. “I decided to use the legal status of –Houssem Dhahri, Ma3an the NGO I had created to collect donations with other youth members of civil society” he said. “I dropped [the donations] at the front doors of people in need who were

too ashamed to ask for help.”

Dhahri The initiative allowed Souk Jedid residents a greater sense of dignity during a challenging time and, thanks to Houssem, will continue forward in the coming months. “I wrote three proposals to different funders [talking about this work],” Houssem reported, “and on Houssem credit: Photo April 20th, I received an acceptance call from the Centre Ma3an youth Houssem Dhahri coordinates with other Souk Jedid volunteers. de Démocratie, Citoyenneté et Développement. I can now procure protection kits made up of masks, gloves, and hand sanitizer. We’ll give these kits to volunteers who haven’t been able to protect themselves properly

in their work.”

Dhahri Houssem has also put the skills he has gained on USAID’s Ma3an project into action. To educate community residents on false COVID-19 information, Houssem has made his Facebook page a resource: credit: Photo Houssem “Along with my other Ma3an peers, I’m posting daily on Houssem delivers supplies in the Souk our Chebeb Ma3an Facebook group, and I’m using my Jedid community. profile to share tips to help people distinguish fact from fiction.”

And Ma3an’s benefits to Houssem do not end there. Speaking of the connections and skills he has gained from the project, Houssem said, “From my time on Ma3an surveying officials and meeting with business owners, I now have a strong network that I can reach out to with these initiatives. It’s the network I’m using “I was born and raised in Souk now. […] Ma3an’s mentoring sessions helped me to Jedid and I want to give back to my community. […] My hope is feel confident approaching others and adjusting my that other youth contribute, too. message to different audiences, both youth and adults. We are the solution. ‘Impossible’ I also learned to have a solutions-oriented mindset. is not Tunisian!” And, my experience with Ma3an storytelling helped me get closer to youth in Souk Jedid. I learned how to listen –Houssem Dhahri, Ma3an without judging and I gained empathy for others youth different from me. […] I’ve put all these lessons to work in my initiatives today.”

The Energizer of El Kef: Tunisian Youth Lead COVID-19 Response (Vol. 3)

Ma3an youth in El Kef Ma3an youth Firas Boushaki is known for his energy. According to Youth Leadership Advisor Lilia Kamoun, engage peers in COVID-19 who has known Firas since the early days of Ma3an response efforts. activities in 2019, Firas is a source of enthusiasm. “Firas is like the Energizer Bunny among the youth Ma3an works with,” said Lilia. “He zooms around doing the work of ten different people – and he always does it with a smile.”

It was no surprise, then, that when COVID-19 began to spread across Tunisia in March 2020, Firas put his energy to work. “When I learned of the situation, I reached out to the governor of El Kef to gain authorization to collect Firas Boushaki Firas donations,” Firas said. “So many people in El Kef are daily workers, and I knew I had to do something to supplement

credit: Photo their lost earnings – for them, it was a matter of life or Ma3an youth Firas Boushaki leads death. So far, I have worked with my friends to collect and quarantine center cleaning and food distribute more than 350 baskets of full-week supplies.” distribution activities in his hometown of El Kef. Seeing the success of his initiative, the Governor called Firas to ask him to work with the community’s crisis unit. “I have become the main person responsible for two quarantine centers,” Firas noted. “I manage the budget to provide food and supplies for the centers. […] I work with others to distribute food in the centers, respecting the rules of the Ministry of Health, […] and I disinfect the rooms and the dishes at the centers.”

“Simply put, I want to paint the Speaking of the influence of Ma3an on his work, Firas dark things that are happening in said, “Sometimes when I’m talking to people in the street white. I love my community and I or holding a meeting, I can hear the [Ma3an] mentoring will work hard to bring hope to it principles I’ve learned in the back of my head. […] during this time.” Learning how to manage small budgets through Ma3an has helped me budget for the centers during quarantine –Firas Boushaki, Ma3an youth and has given me the skills to make sure that we have enough supplies for all the people in need. […] Ma3an has helped me strive for excellence and has helped me lead.”

3D Printing to Shield Communities During the Pandemic: Tunisian Youth Lead COVID-19 Response (Vol. 4)

Ma3an youth in Sidi Bouzid “I’m one of those people who find it difficult to sit still and volunteer to manufacture stay at home,” said Ma3an youth Oumaima Dhahri when 3D printing masks. being interviewed about her work during the COVID-19 pandemic. “I knew when the Tunisian quarantine happened, it was important for me to stay safe to keep others safe, but it was also important to put my abilities to work. I volunteered at ISET [a Tunisian college] and began manufacturing 3D printing masks to reduce the

shortage of medical equipment across the country. I’ve been proud of the work we’ve been able to do.”

And Oumaima has reason to be proud. Since the start of Oumaima Dhahri Oumaima the pandemic, her team at Institut Supérieur des Etudes Technologiques (ISET) has printed 1800 plastic masks,

credit: Photo donating them to four hospitals across Sidi Bouzid. Ma3an youth Oumaima Dhahri works with Oumaima has also helped ISET troubleshoot the local college, ISET, to develop 3D masks problems the organization has encountered when that are given to hospitals in Sidi Bouzid. attempting to finish mask production.

“We found out we were short of raw materials and equipment to manufacture the masks,” Oumaima recounted. “I decided to organize a fundraising event to raise the money that we needed for the materials. I also contacted some local officials who offered to spread the word about our efforts. This resulted in the organization of an online training session that taught others how to make masks at home. There’s been about 4,000 handmade masks that have been made through this work.”

“I hope that we can all ‘shield-up’ Oumaima is grateful for the impact that Ma3an has had against COVID-19. […] Tunisian on her efforts to respond to COVID-19: “The work to make youth are capable of a lot! masks has been intense with conflicts arising among team

members. Each time my team has faced conflict, though, –Oumaima Dhahri, Ma3an youth I’ve been able to apply skills learned from Ma3an. [Ma3an] storytelling has helped me lighten the mood and calm people down. I also remember advice from the Ma3an team that has helped me manage team dynamics and communicate better. Ma3an was an enriching learning experience that’s paying off for me today.”

Ma3an Youth Connect Local Authorities and Civil Society: Tunisian Youth Lead COVID-19 Response (Vol. 5)

Ma3an youth in Fernana “There’s one really interesting aspect about Fernana’s COVID- lead a variety of COVID-19 19 response activities,” said Ma3an youth Sabrine Boulehmi when speaking of her volunteer work during the pandemic. response efforts. “The activities that are taking place have all been proposed by youth. It’s youth who are taking initiative, going to the mayor, and developing and pitching ideas to help others during the

crisis. Youth are working together, youth are being proactive,

and youth are leading the way.”

Sabrine’s own volunteer initiatives during COVID-19 speak to

Sabrine Boulehmi Sabrine the proactive nature of youth in Fernana. Since news of the virus first reached her community, Sabrine has supported social distancing coordination efforts outside of the post office, credit: Photo overseen disinfection activities for public spaces, coordinated Ma3an youth Sabrine Boulehmi organizes and centralized food donations at a local primary school, community donations at a distribution remotely administered a questionnaire to better understand the center in Fernana, Tunisia. impacts of COVID-19 on young people’s lives, and launched a small awareness campaign to share COVID-19 information.

Sabrine and her peers have also acted as a bridge between civil society and the local administration. “Before youth started taking initiative,” Sabrine said, “local authorities and civil society weren’t coordinating – each institution was working alone. But youth involvement brought the two groups together. We gave them a reason to unite.”

Speaking of Ma3an’s influence on her initiatives, Sabrine said: “I’m very optimistic about the “Ma3an gave me a lot of contacts and connections with future of Tunisia, especially given different youth, NGOs, businesses, and local authorities the activities we’re witnessing [through the project’s multi-stakeholder gatherings]. This is the each day. So many youth are same network I’m working with today. Ma3an also supported trying to help. It’s not about having me to become a better public speaker and helped me to talk impressive technical skills – even with people different than me. […] People all over Fernana now small efforts go a long way! I really know me and other Ma3an youth. When we go to the hope this spirit doesn’t go away!” community and ask for support for people in need, the community trusts us and has confidence that their donations –Sabrine Boulehmi, Ma3an youth will get to those who need them. Through Ma3an we also know who does what in the community and we can go to the right person and ask for support. […] Ma3an put a clear map in front of me – giving me contacts, helping me understand needs, and helping me take my next steps forward.”

Tunisian youth harness digital media and put their stamp on global platforms

Youth from Have you ever tried to Google Ettadhamen and Douar Hicher? Why would you? But USAID-Ma3an communication team did and what they found was and Ettadhamen work on close to nothing on Wikipedia, images of burned tires and videos of violence on Youtube. Ettadhamen and Douar Hicher are two of the most vulnerable improving their communities in the greater area. The team dug deeper into research communities’ digital identity. done on both communities and quickly realized that perceptions of stigmatization and lack of a sense of belonging plagued youth and crippled them to act. Eight in 10 youth from Douar Hicher experience exclusion and negative discrimination especially during job search.

Fast forward 8 months, USAID-Ma3an gathers 20 youth from the two communities for three days. Their mission was simple: Create Wikipedia pages for their communities in at least two languages, create a video that truly represents their community, bolster their community’s Google Map to show all that the community has to offer and create a rap song to tell their story, a story of grit despite the odds.

They split up in groups and rolled up their sleeves to, in the words of one participant, “stop blaming everyone because they are saying bad things about us, let's be proactive and represent ourselves and create positive content Youth interview community members about our city.” The operation tagged Clean e-Houmtek (Houmtek in arabic is “your neighborhood”) aimed at cleaning up the e-reputation of communities. It allowed youth to collaborate while honing their writing, filming, song writing skills with the support of Tunisia’s leading experts in digital content creation. Khalil and his fellow participants gained skills in order to find resources within their own communities. Aymen Amri, from Douar Hicher, eloquently expressed the objective of the activity when he said: “this activity not only introduced us to new technology but also and mostly showed us how easy it is to be a change agent!”

Khalil, Wiem, Aymen, Sarah and fellow participants committed to keeping the activities going, proposing sustainability strategies such as Wiki clubs in universities, they also shared that youth from both communities are already setting a plan to map their neighborhood in Google Maps. As Aymen Youth working on Wikipedia content creation Bouaben, USAID-Ma3an’s Communication Manager put it: “They took the ownership of these platforms and intend to sustain this momentum”.

“I used to just consume information on Beyond the tangible results of the activity on Wikipedia, YouTube and Wikipedia, but now I'm proud to contribute with Google Maps, when youth parted on day three, they had made new friends, celebrated their achievements and had a regained sense of commitment to information about my city. When we started, we improving their communities with the digital media skills they gained. found only one line about Ettadhamen on Indeed, as Yasser Machat, USAID-Ma3an’s Social Media Content Manager, and Clean e-Houmtek mastermind, simply puts it, “ instead of using digital Wikipedia, now thanks to this workshop, it's full tools to consume information just for entertainment, I believe we have the of valuable information.” power to use our phones to create positive content about our cities and in just two days transform the digital reputation of a community.” Khalil Othmani, Ettadhamen Could Clean e-Houmtek be Positive Youth Development 2.0 made in Tunisia?